One (1) of the most important functions of childrearing is that of successfully and healthily nourishing small children and infants. Infant bottles provided with infant formula represent one (1) of the most common forms of feeding very small infants in the modern day. Infant formula provides nutrients which are particularly beneficially to infants in their early stages of development, and common infant bottles provide a method of feeding which is familiar, simple, and comfortable for both infants and their care providers.
A longstanding problem in the field of infant feeding bottles is that of the preparation of the bottle and the formulas commonly utilized with the bottles. Various aspects of the preparation can cause consternation, especially for first time care providers. The bottle can be time consuming to disassemble, fill, mix, and reassemble for a child. The proportion of water to dry formula is also important, as young children are particularly sensitive to their diets. Furthermore, achieving an ideal temperature for the mixture is difficult, because the formula is designed to be consumed at a warm temperature, while overheating the formula can cause discomfort for the infant. Similar to mixing proportions, achieving a consistent feeding temperature is both very important and nearly impossible to replicate perfectly by manual methods.
Various attempts have been made to provide an apparatus which assists in the preparation of infant feeding bottles and infant formula. Examples of these attempts can be seen by reference to several U.S. patents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,847, issued in the name of Saltzman, describes a baby formula preparation system. The Saltzman apparatus is essentially an infant formula blender for thoroughly mixing water and baby formula, with a spout for directly pouring water into the blender.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,951,166, issued in the name of Sickels, describes a unit for preparing baby formula. The Sickels apparatus is capable of heating water to a predetermined temperature and mixing it with dry infant formula.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,104,184, issued in the name of Biderman, describes a feeding formula appliance. The Biderman apparatus functions to keep water at a predetermined temperature or temperatures for dispensation by a user as needed for the preparation of infant feeding formula.
Additionally, ornamental designs for an infant formula preparation apparatus exist, particularly U.S. Pat. Nos. D 534,028 and D 544,287. However, none of these designs are similar to the present invention.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffer from one (1) or more of the aforementioned disadvantages. Many such apparatuses do not provide a full range of automation for maximum efficiency. Also, many such apparatuses do not allow for consistent, user-selected automated temperature control. In addition, many such apparatuses require a user to add water as opposed to utilizing an electronically controlled water amount derived from a connection to an existing water source. Furthermore, many such apparatuses do not allow a user to select variable amounts of water for different feeding portions or amounts. Accordingly, there exists a need for an automated infant feeding formula preparation assistance apparatus which saves a user a substantial amount of preparation time without the disadvantages as described above. The development of the present invention substantially departs from the conventional solutions and in doing so fulfills this need.